Simsbury-based Vesta Corp. is seeking zoning permits for its plan to construct a 70-unit elderly housing facility at the former Knights of Columbus Hall in Berlin.
Vesta has applied for a special permit and is seeking site plan approval to build two new three-story buildings on a 4.2-acre parcel at 143 Percival Ave.
Vesta has an agreement with the town to acquire the site, which the town owns, for about $500,000 once it obtains land-use approvals.
The project consists of two buildings that would span a total of 70,400 square feet.
The first building would contain 34 units with 26 one-bedroom and eight two-bedroom apartments. The second building would have 36 units, including 27 one-bedroom and nine two-bedroom apartments.
A community room with an outdoor patio, community gardens and an on-site management office is planned.
Eighty-eight parking spaces are provided – 70 for residents and 18 for staff and visitors.
The existing 12,000-square-foot Knights of Columbus building would be demolished.
The fraternal organization stopped using the antiquated building about 20 years ago. It has been slated for demolition since January 2022 as part of a state grant for remediating blighted properties.
The property is located in a single- and two-family residential zoning district, which allows elderly housing with a special permit.
In addition to the special permit, Vesta is seeking a zoning text change to update the minimum lot area for each unit of senior and affordable housing developments.
The Planning and Zoning Commission opened a hearing on Vesta’s special permit application in May, which is set to continue during a special meeting that starts at 7 p.m. Thursday.
A separate hearing on the proposed zoning text change is expected to open in August.
Also, in May, the town’s Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission approved a wetlands permit for the project.
The applicants are listed on the site plan as Aaron Greenblatt, executive vice president of Vesta, and Joseph Migani, founding member of O’Riordan Migani Architects in Seymour.
Berlin’s Economic Development Director Christopher Edge wrote a letter to the commission saying he fully supports the project.
“I was on the committee to vet the different developers and feel that we are in good hands with our partnership with Vesta,” Edge wrote. “As a family-owned firm, I believe if they can get the somewhat challenging state funding, they will make us proud.”
Edge also noted that housing for seniors is vital to the community.
Vesta, a well-known affordable housing developer, is also involved with the redevelopment of MLK Apartments in Hartford’s Sheldon/Charter Oak neighborhood, where a 155-unit affordable housing development is being constructed.
Vesta was also one of the developers involved in building The Camelot, a recently opened, 44-unit affordable housing development on Farmington Avenue in West Hartford.
